Why Does My Hip Hurt After Playing Pickleball?

Quick Answer: Hip pain after pickleball usually traces to the lateral movement and lunging the sport demands, which loads the hip in ways walking does not. Most cases are muscular and settle with reduced play and some strength work. Pain deep in the groin, pain that clicks or catches, or pain that changes your walk needs assessment.

Hip pain after pickleball is ache or sharp pain in the hip, groin, or outer thigh that appears during or after play, most often from lunging and side-to-side loading.

Why does pickleball bother hips?

The lunge, repeated.

Reaching wide for a ball puts the hip into flexion and abduction under load, which is a demanding position. Do it once and nothing happens. Do it forty times in a session, week after week, and the tissues around the joint start complaining.

The kitchen line adds a second mechanism. A sustained half-crouch keeps the hip flexors shortened and working for long stretches, then a deep ball forces an immediate extension from that position.

The third factor is that most adults sit a great deal, which leaves hip flexors short and glutes underused before play even starts.

What kind of hip pain is it?

The location tells you a lot, and it is worth paying attention to.

• Outer hip, over the bony point, often sore to lie on. Usually the tendons and bursa on the outside of the hip.
• Front of the hip or groin, worse on deep flexion. Could be hip flexor, could be something inside the joint, and the distinction matters.
• Deep groin with clicking or catching, particularly on rotation. This one deserves assessment rather than patience.
• Back of the hip or upper glute, often from the push-off rather than the reach.
• Pain that refers down the leg is a different problem and may come from the back rather than the hip.

What should you do first?

The same sequence that works for most overuse pain.

1. Stop the session. Playing through hip pain reliably extends it.

2. Reduce volume rather than stopping entirely. Complete rest tends to stiffen a hip.

3. Warm up longer. Hips need more warm-up than most people give them, particularly in the morning.

4. Start glute work. Weak glutes make the hip flexors and the outer hip do work they are not built for. Bridges, side-lying leg raises, step-ups.

5. Look at how wide you are reaching. Lunging for balls you should be moving your feet to is a footwork problem that shows up as a hip problem. See how to improve footwork for pickleball.

When should you get it looked at?

Some hip pain is worth a professional opinion rather than another two weeks of hoping.

• Deep groin pain, especially with clicking, catching or locking
• Pain that changes how you walk
• Night pain that wakes you
• Pain that has not improved at all after two weeks of reduced play
• Any sense of the joint giving way

Hip problems are one of the areas where a physical therapist earns their fee quickly, because the difference between a muscular problem and a joint problem is hard to work out from the outside. See when to see a physical therapist.

Can you keep playing?

Usually, with adjustments.

Doubles rather than singles halves the ground you cover. A partner who takes the middle reduces your wide reaches. Shorter sessions matter more than easier ones, because the hip complains about volume more than intensity.

Players managing longer-term hip issues, including after replacement, frequently return to the court. That decision belongs with the surgeon. See pickleball after hip or knee replacement.

FAQ

Why does my hip hurt after pickleball?

Most often from repeated lunging and lateral loading, which put the hip into a demanding position many times per session. Sitting a lot between sessions makes it worse.

Is hip pain after pickleball serious?

Usually not. Most cases are muscular and settle with reduced volume and glute strengthening. Deep groin pain, clicking, catching, or a changed walk are different.

Should I stretch my hip flexors?

It often helps, and strengthening the glutes usually helps more. Short hip flexors are frequently a symptom of glutes that are not doing their job.

How long should hip pain last?

Muscular soreness eases within a few days. Pain still present after two weeks of reduced play needs assessment.

Can I play through it?

Reduce volume rather than playing through. Playing through hip pain reliably turns a short problem into a long one.

What exercises help?

Glute bridges, side-lying leg raises, and step-ups are the usual starting points. A therapist will tailor it to what is actually happening.

Does playing doubles help?

Yes. It roughly halves the court you cover and reduces the wide reaching that causes most of it.

Can I play after a hip replacement?

Many people do, and that decision belongs with your surgeon rather than with an article.

If hip pain keeps interrupting your play, our directory lists physicians and physical therapists by location.

*This article is general information, not medical advice. Talk with your doctor about your own health before starting a new sport.

Written by the Pickler Junction Team.